


Of Tunnels and Light

by KrisseyCrystal (IceCreAMS)



Series: Of Bridges and Shores (Zestiria - AtlA AU) [7]
Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: Airbending & Airbenders, Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Avatar Sorey, Awkward Romance, Firebending & Firebenders, Fluff, M/M, Secret tunnel, Waterbender Mikleo, pure fluff that's all i've got, this is that episode, u kno i had to do it to em, u kno it is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 10:07:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23849428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IceCreAMS/pseuds/KrisseyCrystal
Summary: In order to avoid the ever-encroaching Fire Nation, Sorey and the gang need to sneak out of the valley surrounding the mountaintop city of Omashu. Luckily, the Sparrowfeathers know intimately well the songs and tales of the "Secret Tunnel" that cuts straight through the mountains.
Relationships: Mikleo/Sorey (Tales of Zestiria)
Series: Of Bridges and Shores (Zestiria - AtlA AU) [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1407244
Comments: 17
Kudos: 53





	Of Tunnels and Light

**Author's Note:**

> yes, i'm a week early with my next series installment
> 
> yes, this is exactly the infamous book 2 episode you're thinking of
> 
> no, i did not refrain from dousing this in sap and cheese. this is all very silly and shenanigan-y and also probably not written the best, but i figure we need some reprieve every now and then
> 
> plz enjoy

“Ohhhhhhh my gooooooooshhhhhhh! Would you look at him? Would you just wook at ‘im! He’s adorable, yes he is!”

“You probably shouldn’t get too close, Rose.”

“Aw, he’s harmless!”

“Right now. Atakk isn’t known for being friendly to anyone else that isn’t Lailah or Sorey.”

“Oh, but I think we can make an exception for me, right? Because you’re just so cute and friendly! Aren’t you?” Rose deepens her voice and puffs out her cheeks as if she were talking to a baby as she squeezes the sides of Atakk’s snout. From where Mikleo stands a few feet away, it looks more like she’s hugging his giant nose. 

“Aren’t you sweet, you big, adorable, scaley, big, winged,  _ big  _ dragon, you?” 

Mikleo fists his hands at his side and huffs. “Rose!” 

“Lighten up, would ya, Mik?” The merchant-turned-ally turns to toss a grin over her shoulder. Her hands rub all over the snout of a very happy, contended black dragon. Atakk rumbles, a sound not too unlike a purr emanating lowly from his chest. “He’s like a little pupling. He’s  fine _. _ ” 

Atakk rolls over and kicks his claws into the air. The surrounding forest shakes under the toss of his weight; trees shudder and shake loose idling birds. Leaves flutter slowly to the earth. Mikleo blows off the one that fell on his nose and rolls his eyes. 

Rose squeals.

“Then again, maybe it’s just Fire Nation assholes he likes,” he mumbles and, despite what Sorey and Lailah said about keeping watch as Rose was finally introduced to Atakk, turns around to wander back to camp. 

* * *

“We’ll have to cut through the mountain.”

“What? Are you kidding me? That’s the _last_ thing we should do. You’ve heard the stories about the tunnel, right?” 

“We only sing them twenty times a year--”

“--and whenever the spring comes because spring brings romance and romance brings paying audiences,” Eguille finishes, his voice overlapping with Dezel’s dry tone. He turns to Dezel and shakes the map in his hands so that it rustles very loudly in the forest clearing. “That tunnel is a tunnel of death. We’re not guiding the Avatar through a place that could potentially  _ kill him _ .”

Sorey turns the instant he hears a rustle of leaves. A broad and relieved smile breaks out on his face. “Mikleo. How’d it go?”

“Well, Atakk seems to have a new best friend.” Mikleo tries not to sound too glum about it. He plops down on the log next to Sorey and props his chin in his hand. “But I think I traded one annoying situation for another. Doesn’t sound like things are going too well over here either.”

“Yeah…I hope Lailah is having better luck than us with the twins and getting food.” 

Dezel sighs as if this conversation is taxing him. “He’s going to die anyway if we take the main or back roads. There was a reason we had to leave Omashu.”

“I know it as well as you do. If the Fire Nation takes Omashu…”

“So you don’t actually disagree with me.”

Eguille sighs and rolls up the map. In lieu of an answer, he turns behind him. “What do you say, Sorey? You’re the one we’re trying to smuggle out of the way of the Fire Nation’s raids. Do you think this entire crazy venture is worth risking the tunnel?”

“Tunnel?” 

As Eguille walks over to unroll his map before them, Dezel mutters, “There’s a secret tunnel, known only through legends and folktales, that cuts through the mountains surrounding Omashu. As occasional performers--at Rose’s behest--we’re well familiar with the songs and tales.”

“Does that mean you sing?”

Dezel’s mouth quirks at Sorey’s question. Mikleo’s pretty sure he saw Eguille’s eyebrow give a funny twitch. 

“I want to hear the song!” Sorey asks with fisted hands. Mikleo’s pretty sure those are stars he sees in his friend’s eyes.

“No.” Eguille shakes his head and quickly rolls up the scroll. He straightens to a stand and turns around. “Besides, that has nothing to do with determining our way out of this spirit-forsaken valley. If we want to get away from Omashu and the encroaching Fire Nation, then we need to decide how.”

“Well, you know what my vote is.”

Sorey and Mikleo turn around. Rose stands behind them, her feet shoulder-width apart, with her arms crossed proudly over her chest. She winks at them and then with a flourish of miming a guitar solo, belts unceremoniously, “SECRET TUNNEL!” 

Eguille slaps a hand over his face. Mikleo stifles his snicker behind his hand.

Sorey gasps excitedly. “Is  _ that _ the song?”

“You bet it is!” Rose grins. She makes a dismissive gesture. “I mean, more or less. Usually I make Eguille sing; he’s got the much better tenor. But that’s besides the point!” With no warning, she squats down behind Mikleo and Sorey and loops an arm around each of their necks, sticking her head in the space between them. “With you two along, it’s practically a no-brainer for us to take that Secret Tunnel, because we’ll be out through that labyrinth in no time!”

“Labyrinth?” Mikleo asks at the same time that Sorey wonders, “How’s that?”

“Uh, duh, ‘cuz the legends always say that if you trust in love, then you’ll make it through okay.” 

“Trust in--” Sorey looks to Mikleo immediately.

At the same time, their faces burn bright red. Mikleo looks away first, stuffing his hands in his lap.

“See?” Rose straightens up and claps her hands in the center of their backs. “With you two dorks around, I think we’ll be just fine.”

“It’s not--” Mikleo tries to say but Rose has already stepped around the log, her attention on Eguille and Dezel as they talk about travel plans.

In the awkward silence that follows her departure, Sorey risks a glance at Mikleo’s profile. His eyes fall to his bare neck. 

They still hadn’t talked about what happened that night in Omashu.

Sorey doesn’t think he knows what he wants to say of the bubbly, twisting feeling in his gut. He doesn’t know what he wants to say about, “Hey, sorry I freaked out and went all Avatar state when you got hurt,” or “Hey, do you want me to make you a new necklace? Would you even wear a new betrothal necklace? We aren’t eight anymore, but I think maybe my feelings about you haven’t changed so much as deepened, but now I kind of wonder: does a necklace even encompass everything I feel about you now?”

The words never come.

“It’s just a legend. Right?”

Sorey blinks, eyes snapping back up to Mikleo’s. His friend’s eyes seem lost in the shadows of the trees far beyond their camp. “What?”

“Nothing.” Mikleo stands up with a heavy sigh, not meeting Sorey’s eyes. “We’d better get everything packed.”

“Right…”

* * *

Atakk is afraid of the giant, gaping tunnel. Sorey isn’t sure what to do to calm him down, especially when even Lailah seems to be at a loss. They both walk with one hand on either side of the dragon’s belly, bringing up the rear of their wandering group as they stride deeper and deeper into the tunnel’s maze. Floating above their free hands, palm-up, are small balls of fire.

It’s Mikleo’s idea to use a map and mark the directions they came from. He borrows a blank scroll from the Sparrowfeathers’ cart and scribbles furiously at every turn. Every once in a while, his tongue peeks out between his lips when his face tightens in confusion.

Sorey thinks it’s adorable.

When they find their tenth dead-end, Dezel sighs. “This isn’t working.”

“Course not.” Rose doesn’t sound the least bit surprised; with both hands clasped behind her head, she seemed to be the epitome of relaxed. “The legends don’t say to uh, try and create a map of the tunnels’ twisting labyrinth and maybe you’ll find your way out.”

Mikleo spins around and glares.

Rose shrugs. 

They retrace their steps.

When they arrive at the previous intersection of tunnels, Mikleo gets into a heated debate with Rose and Eguille, one in which Dezel occasionally throws his two cents into. Sorey straightens the same instant Atakk does--a thing Mikleo chalks up to the strange connection the two have--until Sorey worryingly mutters, “Hey. Guys, you hear that?”

Atakk grows more agitated. He wriggles and backpedals, eyes scanning the many surrounding dark tunnels. 

Felice cups her hands around the back of her ears. Her twin answers for her, quiet and frowning: “No.”

Sorey’s eyes snap to the same tunnel Atakk’s does. “I think there’s--”

With an ear-piercing shriek, a giant mole-bat launches itself out of the shadows with mad flaps of its two, veined wings. Its mouth is open as it flies for their faces, teeth gleaming sharp in the dark. 

Rose yelps and squats low, covering her head. Eguille throws up his hands in front of his face. 

Dezel throws up a gust of wind that buffets the mole-bat, knocking it up and away before it can sink its teeth and claws into anyone. As if he had stirred a hornet’s nest, a dozen more mole-bats immediately drop from the ceiling and flutter together in a swarm. The mole-bats form a cloud of unearthly, cacophonous screams, gushing out from the tunnel and over their heads.

Atakk  _ freaks _ .

Roaring loud enough to drown out the panic of the mole-bats, Atakk darts away from Lailah and Sorey’s hands, backpedaling in a mad haste.

“Atakk, wait--!”

Atakk thrashes against the walls, squirming and screaming. The bellows rising up from his chest augment the moment he realizes, beady eyes wide, that there’s no escape. There’s no  _ sky.  _ There is only the earth and this  _ tomb  _ and already, Atakk had been uncomfortable in this underground tunnel; now, it is suffocating and terrifying and Atakk wants out--wants out--wants  _ out-- _

Sorey presses the heel of his hand to his temple with a quiet groan.

In a flash, Mikleo is at his side. “Sorey!”

“Calm him down!” It is perhaps the first time they have ever heard Dezel raise his voice beyond a murmur. “That damn dragon is going to bring down the entire ceiling if he--”

A sudden  _ crack  _ drowns out the rest of his words. It booms, reverberating throughout the underground cavern. Two more thunderous  _ cracks  _ follow, and then giant, lumpy chunks of rock drop. 

In a brilliant spin that fans out the ends of his black coat, Dezel jumps. 

It is the last thing Mikleo and Sorey see before they are flung to the side by a mighty gust of wind.

Dust fills the chamber.

* * *

Atakk’s screams have quieted into pitiful whines. His claws scrape and pull against the piled stone in front of them. Mikleo and Sorey hold onto each other with wide eyes, fingers fisting tightly in the dirtied blue other’s water-tribe wear.

It is so, so quiet on this side of the cave-in. It would be so, so dark without Sorey’s fire.

“Should we help him?” Sorey murmurs.

Mikleo can still taste a filmy, grainy layer of dust on his tongue, coating his mouth and drying his tongue. He shrugs weakly. “I’m not sure what good it would do.”

“Sorey! Mikleo!”

Sorey jerks up to his feet. He stumbles over to the mountain of rocks. “Lailah! Lailah, we’re here! We’re both here and okay!” With one last, meek wimper, Atakk collapses against the stone and slides down to the earth. Sorey swallows and bends to put his free hand on the side of his head. “What about you? Are you okay?”

“Oh, thank goodness! I was so worried!” There’s a pause before Lailah’s muffled voice reaches them again. “Yes! We’re all fine, thanks to Dezel’s quick thinking. I imagine you’ll learn that trick yourself sometime, Sorey!"

“Y-yeah…”

“In the meantime!” Rose’s voice drifts over. “It’s no use trying to dig through this. We’ll meet you on the other side of the tunnel, all right?” 

Mikleo’s presence is warm as he joins Sorey’s side. “The other side?” he sputters. “ How ?! How, exactly, are we supposed to find our way out when the tunnels themselves keep on changing! This is impossible!”

“No, it’s not! You just gotta trust in love, my dude!” Rose calls back. “Sing the song if you want! You know the words by now!”

“I’m not singing!”

“Then that’s Sorey’s loss!”

Sorey’s ears burn bright red. He thinks he sees Mikleo’s face tinged red, too--or maybe that’s a trick of the firelight still burning above the palm of his hand.

“You guys will be fine! Trust me! Or rather…” Rose pauses dramatically and then adds, “Trust in  _ love _ .”

Mikleo groans and shouts, “Rose!” but Rose’s laughter grows distant. When he grabs at the stone and calls for her again, there’s no answer. “This isn't funny!” he adds and with a huff, he pushes away from the pile. “Fine. Whatever. If she’s going to be like that and we’re on our own, then we’ll just…we’ll…” 

“Mikleo?”

“C’mon, Sorey. I don’t think we’ve tried this tunnel yet.”

“O-okay. C’mon, Atakk…”

Atakk makes a pitiful sound but lifts himself from the ground to slunk after them.

* * *

The tomb is the last thing Sorey expects to find in these Secret Tunnels, but the one thing Mikleo was most anticipating. With help from Atakk, the heavy round stone blocking the entrance is shoved aside and immediately, eras-old, undisturbed dust wafts over them.

“Eugh. Gross.” Mikleo scrunches his nose up and coughs.

“But so, so  _ cool _ ,” Sorey breathes and when Mikleo looks to his friend’s profile and sees the wonder in his green eyes, he starts to smile.

“Yeah,” he murmurs. “I guess.”

Sorey turns to Mikleo to give him one bright grin, before he bounds down into the crypt. Mikleo follows.

In the antarctic tundra of the South Pole, Sorey and Mikleo have had little exposure to underground tombs and crypts and dusty rock walls covered with hieroglyphs. This feels like hallowed ground: two sarcophagi in the center of the chamber and two giant statues carved into the wall at the back, bent into a tender kiss. The ancient stones whisper stories to anyone willing to listen. Mikleo and Sorey have never seen anything like it.

“I think I want to keep this close to my heart,” Sorey murmurs, voice lost as if he were in a happy dream. “Y’know?”

“You want to keep close a tomb?” Mikleo chuckles. 

“You know what I mean!” Sorey huffs and when Mikleo has to press a hand to his mouth to keep from laughing more, Sorey turns away with a sheepish smile. “I just think there’s something so neat about this. We were so, so afraid of being lost forever in these tunnels and then, all of a sudden, we found something incredible _.  _ Isn’t that amazing?”

“Well, the timing surely is convenient.”

“Yeah. And maybe it’s silly, but I think if I weren’t the Avatar, maybe I would like to find more cool, forgotten things with old stories. I think I love exploring,” Sorey whispers. Mikleo watches him, something tightening in his throat as Sorey’s fingers trace the tragic romance of Oma and Shu on the cavern wall. “I think I love  _ this _ .” 

Mikleo doesn’t know why his chest feels tight and at the same time so warm. Why is he, in turn, so happy to see Sorey so happy? Shouldn’t they be frustrated and hungry? Afraid? Why, of all things, is he only glad to hear Sorey talk about something he loves?

_ Because I think I-- _

Oh.

Mikleo’s breath hitches in his throat.

_ Oh. _

Sorey doesn’t notice. His hand not occupied with keeping a fire going continues to trace the tragic romance of Oma and Shu. 

Mikleo’s fingertips brush his bare neck.

“Sorey.”

Sorey lifts his gaze from the wall. “Yeah?”

“I think…I think you should let the fire go out.”

“What?”

Mikleo turns around, violet eyes burning in the firelight like iridescent burgundy. Sorey can’t take his gaze away, not when his childhood friend looks at him with such intensity and certainly not when Mikleo presses himself so close to his side. Sorey feels his heart flutter high in his throat. 

“It’s okay,” Mikleo breathes. He gently takes Sorey’s hand holding the flame. Sorey turns bright red. “Let it go out.”

“Mikleo--”

“It’s okay.” Mikleo feels a thrill of pride at managing to sound so calm and so sure, so steady, despite the fireworks show his nerves are putting on at their close proximity. “It’s love. Right? The only way out is love. We have to trust it.”

“Okay.” Sorey swallows hard.

And there it is: the smallest tense of a slender eyebrow--a bend just near the curve of his eye--that probably tells Sorey a million things about what Mikleo is really feeling in this moment. Sorey has known Mikleo his entire life, far long enough to recognize what that flicker probably means, what that crack in the careful mask of his cool composure reveals: that he is afraid, that he is nervous. That he isn’t sure about what is to come. Uncertainty has always put Mikleo at his most uncomfortable; he is a young man of careful planning and thoughtful action. Not spontaneity. He is not Sorey.

And yet, if he could be just as brave… 

“Sorey,” Mikleo begins, his voice soft and small. He can feel his own cheeks begin to burn. “…do you…love me?”

There’s a beat.

A brief snapshot of time where Sorey stares at Mikleo and Mikleo hesitantly raises his eyes to gaze back.

And then--

The fire goes out the same moment Sorey leans forward.

* * *

“Hey! You guys made it! See, I know you would!”

Sorey and Mikleo turn away from the dry valley ahead. Up in the sky high above, Atakk happily curls and uncurls, a slender, dark string sailing through the thick clouds at his leisure. His shadow passes over them as Sorey lifts a hand and jogs over to hug Lailah once she has slipped down from the giant badger-mole’s back. Over Lailah’s shoulder, he smiles at Rose and her Sparrowfeathers as they, too, descend from the back of two other badger-moles.

“You guys made it out okay, too!” Sorey passes a glance over them once the badger-moles have retreated into the tunnels. He can’t see any signs of injuries. “How did you get those badger-moles to help? That’s amazing!”

“We sang,” Rose says and puts her hands on her hips to sneer at Mikleo. 

Mikleo rolls his eyes.

“How about you two?” Lailah’s hand cups Sorey’s face. She tilts his head left and right and Sorey laughs. “You didn’t get hurt, did you? How did you get out of those tunnels?”

Sorey’s face reddens. “Well…” He looks to Mikleo.

After a long moment, Mikleo shakes his head. “That’s our secret.”

“Yeah, right. Ha! I bet you two--” 

Immediately, Eguille plants a hand over Rose’s mouth, dragging her by the arm ahead of the group. The bottom of Rose’s boots leave twin divets in the dirt as he marches along. “Let’s just all be glad we’re finally free of that spirit-forsaken Secret Tunnel and get on with our lives, yes? Yes,” he says.

“Agreed,” Dezel rumbles. He stops in front of Sorey. “Now that we are out of the valley, we should begin making our way for the Northern Air Temple. I will teach you airbending as we travel, but you should know that it will do you well to learn among your predecessors.” 

Sorey looks up to Dezel. “My predecessors?”

Dezel nods as if this is the end of their conversation and what he has said makes complete sense. He strides ahead. Lailah giggles and follows on his heels, motioning for Sorey and Mikleo to hurry.

Sorey looks to Mikleo.

Mikleo shrugs back and smiles. After a moment, he sticks out his hand.

Sorey takes it slowly and intertwines their fingers easily. Perfectly. Finding  every space in between the other to weave and to hold. 

When they walk forward, it's together.


End file.
